Preview: Our Top New Releases from February

The Tatas is the story of one of India’s leading business families. It starts in the nineteenth century with Nusserwanji Tata – a middle-class Parsi priest from the village of Navsari in Gujarat, and widely regarded as the Father of Indian Industry – and ends with Ratan Tata – chairman of the Tata Group until 2012. But it is more than just a history of the industrial house; it is an inspiring account of India in the making. It chronicles how each generation of the family invested not only in the expansion of its own business interests but also in nation building. For instance, few know that the first hydel project in the world was conceived and built by the Tatas in India. Nor that some radical labour concepts such as eight-hour work shifts were born in India, at the Tata mill in Nagpur. The National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Tata Cancer Research Centre, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research – the list about the Tatas’ contribution to India is a long one. A bestseller in Marathi when it was first published in 2015, this is the only book that tells the complete Tata story over two hundred years.

2. The Reason Is You by Nikita Singh

Siddhant meets Akriti during their medical residency in Delhi. Their connection is instant, blossoming from the many similarities between them. So, when Akriti faces a devastating loss, she leans on Siddhant for support. In the heat of an emotional moment, the two decide that this must be love. But as Akriti’s depression begins to take a stronger hold over her, she spirals out of control, sinking deeper into an abyss of fear, insecurity and rage. And while Siddhant struggles to help her, it seems like everything he does is only making things worse. Meanwhile, Siddhant’s life gets further complicated when Maahi, his ex-girlfriend whom he never stopped loving, re-enters his life. Nikita Singh returns with a stirring story – exploring emotional health, the boundaries of traditional relationships and second chances.

3. The Desi Guide to Dating by Ira Trivedi and Sachin Bhatia

So, you’re ready to start dating? But do you know what dating is? Do you like a girl but can’t figure out how to ask her out? Do you have a friend who likes you but you just don’t like him back? Perhaps you’ve downloaded a dating app but are unsure about how to start a conversation? Look, we know dating ain’t easy, and for the average Indian, it seems that much harder as we’ve never been taught this stuff. Our society is unique and so are the problems we face. In an age of ghosting, cheating, blocking and ignoring, finding love is difficult but The Desi Guide to Dating is here to help you out! This book is your one-stop solution to all your dating needs. It helps you perfectly navigate the increasingly confusing world of dating with a step-by-step guide. How to ask her out, what to wear on your date, how to protect your heart, how to kiss the girl, how to fend off creeps and stalkers, and much more. Happy dating, folks! Your time has finally come.

4. The Transformative Constitution by Gautam Bhatia

We think of the Indian Constitution as a founding document, embodying a moment of profound transformation from being ruled to becoming a nation of free and equal citizenship. Yet the working of the Constitution over the last seven decades has often failed to fulfil that transformative promise. Not only have successive Parliaments failed to repeal colonial-era laws that are inconsistent with the principles of the Constitution, but constitutional challenges to these laws have also failed before the courts. Indeed, in numerous cases, the Supreme Court has used colonial-era laws to cut down or weaken the fundamental rights. The Transformative Constitution by Gautam Bhatia draws on pre-Independence legal and political history to argue that the Constitution was intended to transform not merely the political status of Indians from subjects to citizens, but also the social relationships on which legal and political structures rested. He advances a novel vision of the Constitution, and of constitutional interpretation, which is faithful to its text, structure and history, and above all to its overarching commitment to political and social transformation.

5. Hijabistan by Sabyn Javeri

A young kleptomaniac infuses thrill into her suffocating life by using her abaya to steal lipsticks and flash men. An office worker feels empowered through sex, shunning her inhibitions but not her hijab … until she realizes that the real veil is drawn across her desires and not her body. A British-Asian Muslim girl finds herself drawn to the jihad in Syria only to realize the real fight is inside her. A young Pakistani bride in the West asserts her identity through the hijab in her new and unfamiliar surroundings, leading to unexpected consequences. The hijab constricts as it liberates. Not just a piece of garment, it is a worldview, an emblem of the assertion of a Muslim woman’s identity, and equally a symbol of oppression. Set in Pakistan and the UK, this unusual and provocative collection of short stories explores the lives of women crushed under the weight of the all-encompassing veil and those who feel sheltered by it.